Happy birthday Bobby! | baseball zone | Sports | the sun

The “climax” of Bonilla’s worst season in the major leagues to this day came in Game Six of the National League Series, as the Mets attempted to avoid elimination against the Atlanta Braves. While their teammates tried to win the match, Bonilla and Ricky Henderson played cards in the locker room, deliberately skipping the match to taunt Valentine.

according to News agency, a person associated with the Mets allegedly said players who watched the duo play cards wanted to be sent off after the match. “The players were crying and screaming in the dugout after losing 10-9 in the eleventh game and they come into the locker room and see it?” This source said he did not wish to be identified.

The relationship between the Mets and Bonilla was clearly cut off for good… The Mets simply fired the defensive player after the season, but the catch was that they still owed him $5.9 million in his four-man contract. The $23.3 million years and $23.3 million he owned were signed with Marlins. Bonilla’s agent (who also represented Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco), Dennis Gilbert, negotiated with the Mets so that they would add to this amount an annual interest rate of 8% from 2000, which would increase the total to $29.8 million, an amount that the Mets would not begin to pay through July 1, 2011 at $1,193,248 annually. The eleventh installment will arrive in Bonilla’s bank account this year.

Good deal?

At the time, Mets owner Fred Welbone thought he was getting a good deal because his financial advisor was bringing him back.

12% to 15% per annum on all its investments. So Welbone had grown his nest to nearly $17 million before giving his former player a penny, and even paying Bonilla every year would have turned in a profit of $50 million by the end of the deal. In the year 2035.

I say “will” because I intentionally omitted from telling you the name of the financial advisor in question: Bernard Madoff, who died in April behind bars while serving a 150-year prison sentence for a type of fraud called a “Ponzi scheme” totaling nearly $65 billion. The Welbon family would have lost $178 million in some of the funds run by Madoff, but would still have gained $162 million in different funds run by the same fraudster.

Shortly after buying the Wilpon Family Mets in October, billionaire Steve Cohen also tweeted the idea in response to a supporter urging him to pay all money owed to Bobby Bonilla in one go. “Why not instead have ‘Bobby Bonilla Day’ every year? We’d give him a big check and walk around the field in a carriage. It could be nice!” It can be really pretty funny. It remains to be seen if Bobby will fit in the game!

+